James Bruce Round Barn, Freeport Illinois
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- Illinois
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- Round Barn
The James Bruce Round Barn in Freeport was built in 1914 for George Bruce and is the last round barn known to have been built by the team of Jeremiah Shaffer and the Haas brothers who were probably responsible for the unusually large number of Stephenson County's round barns. The barn's central silo and single-hipped roof with braces illustrate the evolution of round barn design in the area. The central silo may reflect the cumulative influence of both the agricultural experiment stations at the University of Wisconsin and the University of Illinois which advocated the central silo. The hipped-roof and type of brace at the roof hip is an adaptation of the earlier conical roof initiated by the Shaffer-Haas team.
The barn has a diameter of 58 feet and 8 inches. It is enclosed with a locally popular type of horizontal wooden siding known as "drop siding". The barn also has a poured concrete foundation. A single hip roof with asphalt shingles has a cupola. The roof hip is strengthened by a series of braces. Each brace is a 2-inch by 6-inch member nailed on one side of each rafter about four feet above the roof hip and to the opposite side of the same rafter about four feet below the roof hip. The wooden stave silo has a 12-foot diameter, is centrally located, and is accessible from the loft by a banked entrance on the northeast side. The main animal access is at grade level on the south side. Especially noteworthy are the "overshoots" which project diagonally from the plane of the wall above entrances on the south and northeast quadrants to compensate for the barn's lack of storm protection for man and animals.
The barn retains original materials in excellent condition. Except for the replacement of asphalt shingles for wooden shingles, the original materials have not been changed.
Looking northwest (1983)
Central silo and west side of roof (1983)
